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Scripture Reading: Gal. 3:26-29; 4:6-7, 28, 31; 5:1; John 15:4a; Rom. 6:5-7, 11; Eph. 2:4-6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21a; 1 Cor. 1:30
We know that a man is saved by grace and not by the law. But this does not mean that grace is limited to our salvation. On the one hand, the book of Romans tells us that a sinner is saved by grace. On the other hand, the book of Galatians tells us that after a man is saved by grace, he should go on in grace. Romans tells us that a Christian begins by grace, while Galatians tells us that a Christian continues in grace. Galatians 3:3 says, "Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Hence, a Christian should not depend on grace just for his beginning; he should depend on grace continually.
When a man is saved, he does not need to do anything by his own strength. All that he has to do is trust in God's grace. As he progresses, he still does not need to do anything by his own strength. Again, all that he has to do is trust in God's grace. This is the characteristic of Isaac. It is continuing in the grace of God. Not only is our beginning a matter of grace, but our continuation is also a matter of grace. From the beginning to the end, it is a matter of receiving. In the New Testament our Isaac is Christ. He is God's only begotten Son. He has become Isaac for us so that we can enjoy God's inheritance in Him.
The Bible shows us that there are two aspects of the inheritance which God has given to us in Christ. On the one hand, we are in Christ. On the other hand, Christ is in us. In other words, there are two aspects of God's joining us to Christ. On the one hand, we are in Christ, and on the other hand, Christ is in us. We cannot confuse the order of these two unions. First we are in Christ, and then Christ is in us. This is why the Lord's Word says, "Abide in Me and I in you...He who abides in Me and I in him..." (John 15:4-5).
Our being in Christ has to do with the facts that are in Christ, while Christ being in us has to do with the life of Christ. In other words, our being in Christ touches Christ's work, while Christ being in us touches Christ's life. When we are in Christ, all the facts that are in Christ become ours. When Christ is in us, all the power that is in Christ becomes ours. When we are in Christ, everything that Christ has accomplished becomes ours. When Christ is in us, everything that Christ can accomplish becomes ours. When we are in Christ, we receive everything that Christ has accomplished. When Christ is in us, we receive everything that Christ is today. When we are in Christ, all the works that Christ accomplished in the past become ours. When Christ is in us, all that Christ is and can do today becomes ours.
We have to realize that all of God's provisions in Christ are our inheritance. If we want to understand the extent of God's inheritance for us and if we want to know the extent of the enjoyment of our inheritance, we must see that we are in Christ and that Christ is in us. Everyone who wants to know the Lord has to know Him in these two aspects. If we only know that we are in Christ, but do not know that Christ is in us, we will be weak and empty, and everything will be theoretical. We will fail again and again. However, if we only know that Christ is in us, without knowing that we are in Christ, we will suffer a great deal. We will find that we do not have the means to do what we want to do. No matter how hard we try, we will be left with imperfections. We have to realize that God's inheritance for us in Christ contains these two aspects. On the one hand, we are in Christ, and on the other hand, Christ is in us. These two aspects of our inheritance provide us with a rich enjoyment in the Lord. All the matters related to life and godliness, holiness and righteousness, and everything pertaining to this age and the next are included in the two phrases: "we in Christ" and "Christ in us." Both of these aspects of grace are a Christian's enjoyment. If we enjoy these aspects of grace, we will not need any self-effort. These two aspects of grace will deliver us from our own work. They will show us that everything is of God and that nothing is of ourselves.
We were sinners, and in order to go on, there was the need for a new start and a new stand. We were stuck in the mire. If we were left to ourselves, we would be in the mire forever. In order to give us a new standing, God pulled us out of the mire and set our feet on the rocks. Once we have a new standing, we have a new beginning, and we can go forward from there. We need to be delivered from sin, the mire, and we need to take a new standing. What kind of standing is this new standing? It is a standing before God. How can we be delivered from the mire, and how can we take this new standing? How can we come before God? We have the Adamic life in us, and we are wicked. We did not become wicked after we did something wrong; we were wicked as soon as we were born. Our conduct is wrong because we inherited a wrong life. When we first became Christians, we only saw that our conduct was wrong. After a long time, the cross did some work in us, and under God's dismantling work, we saw that not only was our conduct wrong, but our person was wrong as well. Not only is our conduct wrong, but the Adamic life within us is wrong. Our life is wrong; therefore, our conduct is wrong. This is what the book of Romans tells us. The first three chapters of Romans show us that our conduct is wrong, while chapters five through eight show us that our person is wrong. Since our person is wrong, what should we do? God's Word says that we should die. God requires that man's sins be washed away and the man who sins be put to death. "For he who has died is justified from sin" (6:7). Therefore, the only way to deal with the sinning man is to put him to death. But this is not all. In addition to death, we need a new life. When we die, everything is finished. If we want to have a new start before God, we need a new life. Therefore, we not only need to die, but we also need to resurrect. But we cannot stop at this point either. Resurrection is not enough, and a new life is not enough. We still need a new position. Therefore, God transfers us out of the old position and puts us in a new position in heaven so that we can live before God. From this point on, we have a new position and have nothing more to do with the old position. Simply put, as sinners we have three great needs: death, resurrection, and ascension. With death, resurrection, and ascension, everything we have in Adam is terminated and we can have a new beginning.
How can we die, resurrect, and ascend? This is a big question, and it is a big problem. We cannot die, resurrect, or ascend. But praise the Lord that He has the way. He has joined us to Christ. Thank and praise Him. "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 1:30). God has joined us to Christ Jesus. We have to remember this verse: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." This means that God's work has put us in Christ. God has put the believers into Christ Jesus. When God puts us into Christ Jesus, Christ's experiences become our experiences. This is like putting a photograph in a book. If someone takes this book and burns it, the photograph is burned as well. In the same way, God has put us into Christ. When Christ died, we also died. When Christ resurrected, we also resurrected. When Christ ascended, we also ascended. Our co-death, co-resurrection, and co-ascension with Christ are not something that we worked out, but something that God accomplished in Christ. God has taken Christ to the cross, resurrected Him, and brought Him to the heavens. Thank and praise the Lord. By putting us into Christ, God has made us partakers of the experiences of Christ. Since He died, we have died. Since He resurrected, we have resurrected. Since He ascended, we have ascended. If we look at ourselves apart from Christ, we have not died, resurrected, or ascended. But if we look at ourselves in Christ, we will say, "Hallelujah. I have died, I have resurrected, and I have ascended!" If we look at ourselves in Christ and believe in the word of 1 Corinthians 1:30, we will surely say, "Thank and praise the Lord. I have died, resurrected, and ascended!" Because we are in Christ, all of His experiences have become ours. This is the first item of God's inheritance to us in Christ.
A brother once testified, "Over ten years ago, I had the following experience: I knew the doctrine of the cross, and I was able to preach this doctrine. I would not admit that I had absolutely no experience of the cross. Yet I realized that I had a problem before the Lord. There were many things in me that I could not say that I had dealt with. I did not have the assurance that I was dead to them. I knew about resurrection and ascension doctrinally. But I did not know these things experientially. For a period of four months, I sought the Lord and asked Him to show me the meaning of dying with Christ. I asked God to help me die with Him at any cost. I wanted to die with Christ at any cost. During those four months, the Lord showed me a little light, and I discovered one thing: God's Word does not say that I should be crucified. God's Word says I have been crucified. However, I could not believe this. When I looked at myself, I did not feel like I was crucified. I could only say that I was crucified if I was not honest with myself. If I was honest with myself, I could not say that I was crucified. I spent four months studying His Word and hoping to find the solution to my problem. One morning while I was praying, I suddenly saw that I was in Christ and that Christ and I were joined together. We two were one. I realized that it was impossible for me not to die when Christ had already died. This was something that happened within less than a minute's time. I asked myself, 'Has Christ died?' I could only say that Christ had died. I would be crazy to say that Christ had not died. Next I asked, 'What about me?' Immediately I jumped up and said, 'Hallelujah! I have died also!' I saw that since Christ had died, I had also died. My problem was solved. I am one with the Lord. Whatever God has done in Him, He has done in me. When He died, I died. When He resurrected, I resurrected. When He ascended, I ascended. From that day until now, I cannot deny this fact. This has become my inheritance." Brothers and sisters, this brother was speaking about God's inheritance to us in Christ. We should accept this inheritance.
Our being in Christ is an inheritance. All we have to do is receive and enjoy it. There is no need for us to do anything. However, many Christians go through many sufferings. They do not see that this is an inheritance and that this is something one receives and enjoys. They continue to suppress themselves and struggle to find their own way. Yet in spite of their repeated efforts, they find that they are still not dead and that their hopes have still not come to pass. Actually, the self that we cannot change and the old man that we have tried to shake off have been crucified on the cross by the Lord already! Because we are in Christ, we are crucified with Christ. Can we attain to this experience by ourselves, or is it something that God has given to us in Christ? This is the problem many Christians face. They think that crucifixion is an experience they have to attain to. But according to the Lord's Word, there is not such a thing. God has accomplished everything in Christ. All that we have to do is receive.
Of course, this depends on how much one has seen. Some have taken crucifixion as a doctrine, and they only understand it as a doctrine and teaching. This is fruitless. We need to have the revelation and the inward vision to see that we are in Christ before we can enjoy the fact of our crucifixion with Christ.
God has done everything in Christ. When we are in Christ, everything that is done in Christ is done in us. This is why 1 Corinthians 1:30 is so precious: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." Hallelujah. God has put us in Christ! Thank the Lord that He has given us not only Christ and the power of Christ, but even more the experience of Christ. Not only do we partake of the divine nature, but we partake of the nature of the Son of God, and we share in the experience of the Son of God. Of course, we are talking about His experience of death, resurrection, and ascension. We do not partake of His experiences before His death. At that time, the one grain was still one grain. But after the one grain died, His all became our all.
However, the matter does not stop here. When we are in Christ, our past is terminated and we are ushered into the present, in which God has given us another part to our inheritance in Christ. This inheritance is "Christ in us." What is the purpose of Christ being in us? Christ in us is for the present and for the future. Christ is in us for the purpose of becoming our life today.
Many times we ask, "How can we overcome? How can we be righteous? How can we be holy?" We have to note carefully that God has not given us Christ as our pattern. He has not given us Christ as our power. God has given us Christ for only one purpose: "I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20).
Many people are misled to think that God has made Galatians 2:20 our goal. After being a Christian for five or ten years, they hope that they can one day say that they are crucified with Christ and that it is no longer they who live, but Christ who is living within them. They think that this is the high goal toward which they should strive. Many people think, "I will keep pursuing, until the day I reach that goal. That will be wonderful." But Galatians 2:20 does not tell us that this is God's goal for us to achieve. It says that it is God's means, something that God has accomplished. This verse shows us the meaning of a Christian's life, and how a Christian should live out this life and satisfy God. Thank the Lord that we are crucified in Christ already. We do not need to seek to live with Him. Rather, Christ lives within us as our life. If we want to live out the Christian life and satisfy God's heart, the way is for us to no longer live, but for Christ to live in us. In other words, the Lord Jesus is living for us and on our behalf. This is why we can say that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who is living.
Paul said, "For to me, to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). This does not mean that Paul would reach a certain stage after being a Christian for many years and could then say, "For to me, to live is Christ." He was telling us that this was the way he had lived all along. What is the Christian life? The Christian life is just Christ. What does it mean for Christ to live within us? Christ living within us means that Christ is our life and that He is living instead of us. We do not live by the power of Christ. Rather, Christ lives within us and on our behalf. This is an inheritance that we can enjoy. God has given Christ to us to be our life. A Christian life is one which requires no self-effort, because the Christian life is a law. God has given Christ to us to be our life. This life is a law, and it is spontaneous. There is no need for us to do anything. The law of the Spirit of life is in us (Rom. 8:2). We do not have to make up our mind to do anything. When this law operates, it spontaneously does things for us. We need to realize that this life is a law. If it were not a law, there would be the need for self-effort, and we would have to do something. But since it is a law, there is no need for self-effort, and there is no need for us to do any work. Suppose we are holding something in our hands. The minute we let go, the object will fall on the ground. The force of gravity is a law, and this law will produce certain results automatically. Thank and praise the Lord that the Christian life is a law and that we do not have to grasp onto such a life. Thank the Lord that such a law operates in a spontaneous way. God has put Christ in us and given Him to us for our inheritance. He is working spontaneously in us. All we have to do is receive as Isaac did.
Let us read 1 Corinthians 1:30 again: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus." The first part of the verse speaks of us being in Christ Jesus. The second part of the verse says, "Who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption." God has made Christ our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. Righteousness was originally a thing, but the righteousness that God gives us is not a thing but a person. It is the Lord Jesus within us becoming our righteousness. He is our righteousness. Sanctification was originally a condition, but the sanctification that God gives us is not a condition but a person. It is the Lord Jesus within us becoming our sanctification; He is our sanctification. Redemption was originally a hope, but the redemption that God gives us is not a hope but a person. It is Christ within us becoming our hope of glory.
The daily life of a Christian is one of enjoying Christ and receiving Christ. On the one hand, we stand in Christ, realizing that all that Christ has accomplished is ours. On the other hand, while we live on this earth day by day Christ becomes everything that we need. Christ is the very things themselves. Our sanctification is just Christ, our righteousness is just Christ, our patience is just Christ, and our humility, meekness, and goodness are just Christ. Joy is not when we are happy. Joy is Christ living within us and being expressed as joy. Meekness is not a feigned appearance of weakness before others. It is Christ living within us and being expressed as meekness. Our joy, our meekness, etc., are all Christ Himself. These are the expressions of Christ.
This is what makes Christianity so special. We have a life within us, and this life is just Christ Himself. There is no need for us to use our own strength. This life will spontaneously express itself in meekness, goodness, humility, and patience. Christ in us becomes our meekness, our goodness, our humility, and our patience. We may think that meekness, goodness, humility, and patience are virtues that we possess, but God's Word shows us that these things are just Christ Himself. God has put His Son within us so that Christ Himself will live spontaneously out of us in all circumstances. When we are tempted by anxiety, this life will manifest itself as patience. When we are tempted by pride, this life will manifest itself as humility. When we are tempted by stubbornness, this life will manifest itself as meekness. When we are tempted by defilement, this life will manifest itself as holiness. Christ will express His patience, His humility, His meekness, and His holiness from within us. Christ becomes our patience, our humility, and our holiness. It is not a matter of our doing, but a matter of Christ living. We do not need to try to be humble by the power of the Lord; rather, Christ is our humility. We do not need to try to be holy by the power of the Lord; rather, Christ is our holiness. We do not need to fulfill God's goal by living by ourselves or even by the power of the Lord. The spontaneous manifestation of Christ Himself fulfills God's goal. When the Lord is expressed through us, we become what we are spontaneously. This is Christianity.
We have to know the God of Abraham. If we want to go on, we have to commit ourselves to the Almighty God and allow Him to reveal Himself to us as the Father at the proper time. We have to see that nothing from ourselves will satisfy His heart and that everything must be of Him, because only God is the Father. We must also know the God of Isaac. We have to see that everything is accomplished by Christ. In the past, He accomplished everything. In the future, He will still accomplish everything. His facts are ours, His life is ours, and His experiences and power are ours. It is one thing for us to be in Christ. It is another thing for Christ to be in us. Neither aspect requires any effort on our part. One day the Lord will open our eyes to see that everything is of Christ and from God and that everything has been accomplished by Christ. God is the source and Christ is the One who is working.
After we know the God of Isaac, we still must know the God of Jacob. What is the difference in spiritual significance between the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? We can say that the God of Isaac shows us how God has dispensed His Son to us, while the God of Jacob shows us how God is disciplining us through the Holy Spirit. The God of Isaac shows us God's gift, while the God of Jacob shows us God's workmanship. The God of Isaac gives us the boldness to testify, "God has given me new light and shown me that Christ is my life. I have overcome!" The God of Jacob causes us to confess humbly, "God has shown me the self, and I can never trust in it again or boast of its usefulness." The God of Isaac causes us to proclaim boldly, "Sin is trampled under my feet!" The God of Jacob causes us to fearfully confess, "I can still fail at any time." The God of Isaac shows us Christ, while the God of Jacob shows us ourselves. The knowledge of the God of Isaac gives us the confidence to know that everything is done by Christ and not by ourselves. The knowledge of the God of Jacob causes us to know ourselves and delivers us from presumptuousness. If we study God's Word carefully, we will see these two different kinds of experiences.
We can say that the God of Jacob completes the work of the God of Isaac. The God of Jacob works in us to make room for the God of Isaac so that Christ will gain a place and occupy more and more ground in us. It is this very work that puts us "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling" (1 Cor. 2:3). Our life is a paradox. We have much assurance in Christ, and at the same time, we have no assurance in ourselves. On the one hand, we are bold to testify and speak, but on the other hand, we are fearful of speaking anything and feel like dust before Him. Without the blood of the Lord, we cannot face God. After we know the God of Isaac, we still have to go on to know the God of Jacob. When we combine these two experiences together, we have the proper Christian life.
